Comic-Con 2011

“It’s fantastic!” marveled Mr. Herzog, who, shortly before 4 p.m. on Friday, was finally spotted in the outer reaches of the roiling exhibition hall. Just beyond the “People vs. George Lucas” display, he was working through questions with a heavily armed, armored and camouflaged young lady. Could he take her picture for publication? Are there any copyright concerns? Has any character, living or dead, ever resembled this fierce, futuristic, fantasy Amazon?

“I have never seen the collective dreams all in one place,” said Mr. Herzog, who claims to have expected men in suits — business suits — when he heard the term “convention.” Mr. Herzog was being guided through the heart of darkness by Erik Nelson, a producer with whom he often works. Mr. Nelson is here on business — on Friday evening, he is scheduled to appear on a panel explaining “Dinosaur Revolution,” a planned Discovery Channel series that promises “an insider’s view of the private lives and strange behavior of dinosaurs,” according to the official Comic-Con program guide.

Mr. Herzog, meanwhile, was absorbing the Breughel-like atmospherics, while taking a break from his own next project with Mr. Nelson, a death row documentary. It is so intense, he said, it has caused him to start smoking again.

“Not a lot, just sometimes,” said Mr. Herzog. “I can only work on this for five hours at a time. I’m usually an eight-hour guy.”